Alton Browns Pie Crust Recipe 455

ALTON BROWN'S PIE CRUST RECIPE - (4.5/5)

Steps:

• Flour parchment paper. Add butter and cover completely with flour. Chop butter and coat thoroughly. Chill everything in a metal bowl. Take 4 tablespoons butter out of fridge and warm to room temperature. Process dry ingredients till butter completely disappears; pulse. Add rest of the butter half at a time. Pulse 10 times; til pea sized. Process rest of butter, leaving chunks of butter. Put mix in a bowl; spray top of dough till glistens and work in with a spatula. Spray again and fold. Grab a handful of dough and squeeze-if shows crease of hand and breaks apart cleanly, not crumbly, about right. Spray again, stir if dry; pack into a mound; push down with waxed paper and turn out of bowl. Wrap tightly and chill 20 minutes. On a floured surface, with a floured rolling pin, press straight down, turn crust 10 degrees per roll, till size desired. Brush top of crust with 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

ALTON BROWN'S PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Place butter and lard in freezer for 15 minutes. When ready to use, remove and cut both into small pieces.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until texture looks mealy. Add lard and pulse another 3 to 4 times. Remove lid of food processor and spritz surface of mixture thoroughly with water. Replace lid and pulse 5 times. Add more water and pulse again until mixture holds together when squeezed. Place mixture in large zip-top bag, squeeze together until it forms a ball, and then press into a rounded disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place 2 metal pie pans in the refrigerator to chill.
• Remove dough from refrigerator. Cut along 2 sides of the plastic bag, open bag to expose dough, and sprinkle both sides with flour. Cover again with plastic and roll out with a rolling pin to a 10 to 11-inch circle. Open plastic again and sprinkle top of dough with flour. Remove pie pans from refrigerator and set first pan on top of dough. Turn everything upside down and peel plastic from bottom of dough. Place second pan upside down on top of dough and flip again. Remove first pan from atop dough. Trim edges if necessary, leaving an edge for meringue to adhere to. Poke holes in dough and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Place a large piece of parchment paper on top of dough and fill with dry beans. Press beans into edges of dough and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove parchment and beans and continue baking until golden in color, approximately 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Let cool completely before filling.

NO PAN PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a food processor, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Pulse to combine. Place dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and put the bowl into the refrigerator. Remove 1/2 stick of butter from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. In a food processor, add the 1/2 stick of butter to the flour mixture. Pulse until the fat completely disappears. Add the remaining 1 1/2 sticks butter in separate batches. Pulse until flour mixture resembles the size of a pea.
• Combine the apple juice concentrate and the cold water. Using a spray bottle, spritz the dough with the apple juice mixture while folding the mixture with a spatula. After about three tablespoons of the liquid, check the dough for consistency. It should hold together when compressed but remain relatively dry to the touch. If it does not bind, add a little more water. Remove from the processor and form the dough into a ball. Wrap the dough in wax paper or parchment paper and rest in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add pears to the pan and toss for 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and continue to toss for 30 seconds. Add sugar and cook until the pears have softened. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, and the butter and melt slowly. Fold in the blueberries. Remove from heat. Sprinkle on the flour and combine well. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Place dough on a floured piece of parchment and roll out to a 1/4-inch thick disk. Transfer to a baking sheet. Place cubed pound cake in the middle of the dough, leaving a 3-inch margin of crust on all sides. Spoon filling over the cake cubes and top the pears with 1 ounce of cubed butter. Lift excess crust onto filling and repeat in a clockwise fashion until a top lip has formed around the edge of the whole tart. Brush the tart with the egg wash and sprinkle the crust with the sugar.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the filling begins to bubble and the crust is golden brown.
• Remove from the sheet pan immediately and cool on pie rack.

PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Place butter and lard in freezer for 15 minutes. When ready to use, remove and cut both into small pieces.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until texture looks mealy. Add lard and pulse another 3 to 4 times. Remove lid of food processor and spritz surface of mixture thoroughly with water. Replace lid and pulse 5 times. Add more water and pulse again until mixture holds together when squeezed. Place mixture in large zip-top bag, squeeze together until it forms a ball, and then press into a rounded disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place 2 metal pie pans in the refrigerator to chill.
• Remove dough from refrigerator. Cut along 2 sides of the plastic bag, open bag to expose dough, and sprinkle both sides with flour. Cover again with plastic and roll out with a rolling pin to a 10 to 11-inch circle. Open plastic again and sprinkle top of dough with flour. Remove pie pans from refrigerator and set first pan on top of dough. Turn everything upside down and peel plastic from bottom of dough. Place second pan upside down on top of dough and flip again. Remove first pan from atop dough. Trim edges if necessary, leaving an edge for meringue to adhere to. Poke holes in dough and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Place a large piece of parchment paper on top of dough and fill with dry beans. Press beans into edges of dough and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove parchment and beans and continue baking until golden in color, approximately 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Let cool completely before filling.